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Home > Support > Homeschooling > My child is clamoring to attend either public or private high school. I don't know which way to turn....
 
 
Question: My child is clamoring to attend either public or private high school. I don't know which way to turn. Can you give me some guidelines that will help in the decision-making?
Answer:

Dear Mom,

Thank you for your question. I hope the following “brainstorm” is helpful to you and your husband as you prayerfully discern the Lord’s will for your family: 

Will the school design a curriculum around your student, or force your child into classes that are unnecessary and/or detrimental?

Will the school in question offer as much one-on-one as a homeschool format does?

If your child is seeking more 'socialization':

- will the school provide positive or negative socialization?

-is your child strong enough to resist the intense peer pressure and still retain a focus on Godly principles, or will he/she value socialization more than academics and his/her soul?

-is there another, non-school avenue for socialization, such as 4-H, community music, arts, or sports programs, parish youth activities, Catholic homeschool groups, or through volunteer work at hospitals, crisis pregnancy centers, as aide in primary parochial school classroom, etc.?

-is socialization the primary goal or is an academic education the goal? What is the key purpose for attending public/private school?

If there is a concern about the ability to teach higher-level subjects, is there a way that your child can receive these classes:

-as part of a homeschool group

-through private tutoring [contact high schools for tutors, or retired or substitute teachers]

-at a community college

-by taking that class ONLY at a local school

Might the child be enrolled ONLY in one challenging class - e.g., math, to allow him/her to demonstrate his/her ability to deal both with academics and socialization?

[Experiencing reality for one class may give the child a different picture of public/private school than he/she imagined.]

Should the parent, who sees a far broader picture than a child, make the final decision, or should it be left to a child who cannot yet rightly discern the impact of the decision?

God bless you,

Theresa Johnson

   
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